Clarence D. "Rapp" Rappleyea, who served 22 years in the New York State Assembly, including 12 as Republican minority leader, died Sunday at Albany Medical Center, according to a Chenango County funeral home. The Norwich native was 82.

Rappleyea represented the 122nd Assembly District from 1973 to 1995, when he resigned to become chairman of the New York Power Authority, a position he held until 2001. Before that, he was Norwich city attorney.

Funeral arrangements are pending with Wilson Funeral Home in Norwich.

The district seat is held by Republican Assemblyman Clifford W. Crouch, who won a special election in 1995 and has been re-elected every two years since 1996.

Crouch said even 20 years after Rappleyea left the Assembly, his name still comes up in conversation in Albany and in the district.

"He was gregarious and honest with people, and he mastered the art of the deal," Crouch said. "He had the ability to see the talents of other people. He truly was a great man and a statesman."

Former Binghamton Mayor Richard Bucci, who was Rappleyea's regional coordinator for southern and central New York, said the assemblyman was "a class act" who earned respect across the aisle.

"He was a dedicated legislator who was passionate in advocating for the communities of upstate New York," Bucci said. "Rapp loved personal interaction with his constituents and was genuinely concerned with the issues confronting them."

In a tribute posted Monday on the Empire Center for Public Policy website, President E.J. McMahon wrote that Rappleyea united the Republican minority behind "a consistent and coherent policy agenda" that opposed former Gov. Mario Cuomo's fiscal plans during the early 1990s recession and offered alternatives.

Veterans of Rappleyea's caucus went on to fill the administration of Gov. George Pataki — who himself came up under Rappleyea's leadership.

"If there had been no Minority Leader Rappleyea, there would have been no Governor Pataki," McMahon wrote.

In a statement Monday evening on his personal Twitter account, Pataki said Rappleyea "was a great friend, adviser and mentor. Most of all, he was a great New Yorker and selfless public servant."